Part IV: Hoi An Mostly
We're all a little weird. Wait, aren't we? It's just me that's weird?! Damn, I was hoping to grow out of that. Well I'm going to be 40 in November so I'll just keep being weird, might be too late now. During our down time we visited Hoi An twice. The first time thanks to Erin our trip leader to experience the night market and have a team meal at Vy's Market Restaurant and Cooking School. The second time we went as part of a larger group including all of the teams participating in the tournament. Different focus each time with no shortage of good food, laughter and photos. Caution, you will not see photos here. This is a place for words.
Hoi An is a busy market town. So what did I do during our first visit? I rented a bicycle. The guy took my picture with his phone, and gave me an extra 10 minutes for a total of 70 minutes for 100,000 VND (~$4 USD). I braved the crowds and rode through the markets and shops to see if there was something that struck my fancy. Mostly mangoes, and coconut water, but I really wanted some hard boiled duck eggs. I wasn't sure if it was balut or an actual hard boiled egg. I decided against it. My stomach had held up pretty well so far, I wasn't about to push my luck.
Cycling advice: pedestrians will ignore you, motorbikes and cars honk before they pass. Use your hand signals to communicate your intentions and you'll be fine. You may have to make a Michigan left if it's really busy. I have never felt so safe riding a bicycle in traffic. I didn't get doored, bumped, or buzzed. I explored a great deal of Old and New Hoi An on bicycle in my 70 minutes. It's an easy ride because it's so flat. I rode some on paved streets and back roads by the river. It was an enjoyable cruise and surprisingly easy way to beat the heat with the constant breeze. I stopped at some kind of cafe along the river and had a refreshing iced Vietnamese coffee before heading back to return my bicycle and meet up with the team for dinner.
Dinner at Vy's was delicious. I had Bun Cha and it reminded me of the cooking my mom does. My family is Laotian, so it's not quite the same food and culture as the Vietnamese, but similar enough that it reminds me of home. I do believe our team enjoyed their meals and the evening. While I could have used some Whitney Houston on the bus, I'm thankful for the tunes on the bus ride back to our hotel.
The Federation running the tournament sponsored a day trip to Hoi An. This was complete with tour guides and professional photographers. After the tours, I decided to people watch this time. I went to a cafe, and drank a bunch of iced coffee (coconut mostly). I saw a lot of tourists, locals, and was amazed at how kind everybody was and how much people still smoke. I read my book and sipped. It was great to just be for a while. We've talked about this before; I treasure alone time. I'm grateful for the breaks in our trip to enjoy solitude and bask in the shade of the sun.
Our team is comprised entirely 20-somethings I believe. And as such, they do things that are quite entertaining and endearing. I mean they also do things that defy logic and make me scratch my head, but that may be a book I write in the future to pay for my farm of bees, chickens, and maple trees. At all of our Cup dinners (opening, gala, closing) they brought their style and best dance moves to the stage to share with the other 20-somethings there. It's really fun to see young people with no common language be united in sport and have fun through music and dancing.
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